In the traditional world, where only a small fraction of people operate on-chain, recommendations are typically based on personal experience. When someone promotes their favorite car, they rarely do it because they want you to buy the company's stock. Their recommendation feels genuine because your purchase won't directly result in their financial gain. This form of advocacy is pure, but it's also almost entirely reactionary—a response to a direct question or prompt. People rarely post on social media to evangelize their Jeep; it's only when asked that they share their opinion.

On-chain tokens change this dynamic entirely. By giving people the ability to purchase, promote, and potentially profit from a token, incentives become aligned across the board. This transforms consumers from passive recommenders into active promoters. While this opens the door to varying degrees of ethical "shilling," the motivation it creates is undeniable. The prospect of a rising balance is a powerful catalyst for action.

This doesn't mean every promoter is simply trying to sell before a price dump. When I have a shared interest in a product or brand's success, I am happy to go out and market it. My role isn't to force someone to buy, but rather to bring awareness to an opportunity they might value.

Ultimately, this alignment is a net positive for both consumers and companies. It harnesses the power of community and provides a low-cost, high-impact marketing channel that can help level the playing field. By turning consumers into advocates, tokens don't just sell a product; they help build an incentivized community around it.

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https://farcaster.xyz/peterpandam

The Dota team caught the attention of many folks adjacent to gaming, drawing them into the world of Nouns. Sam, an incredibly capable developer, jumped in. He built the first version of the Nouns Esports website: Nouns GG.

Originally, Nouns GG was a simple but beautifully designed team homepage—highlighting players, partners, and basic info about the org. But we had bigger plans. We envisioned Nouns GG as a public good for the esports community, and that led to the development of more ambitious features.

One early idea was the MVP Pass—something for our most loyal fans. But we struggled to find product-market fit and attract users.

Meanwhile, we were running Prop House rounds with great success, using them to discover new contributors and onboard talent into the community. But when Prop House sunset, we needed to find a new path forward. That’s when we launched our own version of “Rounds”—not to be confused with Seneca’s engagement-based version. These were designed as our first core feature on Nouns GG. And once we removed the requirement for crypto onboarding, participation exploded.

What started as dozens of users on Prop House turned into over 6,000 people voting and submitting proposals on Nouns GG. This surge also drove a big boost in Discord activity, as users began campaigning and engaging in real time. Through these Rounds, we quickly identified the Smash Bros. Melee community as a natural fit. Their decentralized culture, tight-knit community support, and frequent IRL events made them an ideal group for testing what it means to build love for an IP. As our user base grew—now over 14,000—we continued to ship new features that deepen engagement and strengthen the bond between fans and their communities.

Today, we’re building toward a future where communities can create and manage their own hubs on Nouns GG. We're giving them the tools to engage, organize, and grow—on their own terms.

Current Features of Nouns GG:

• Events

  • Showcase upcoming and past events with integrated tools and support features for your community.

• Quests

  • Guide your community with step-by-step actions to help them engage, support, and grow your ecosystem.

• Predictions

  • Activate your most engaged users with competitive prediction markets tied to events or outcomes.

• Rounds

  • A marketplace for ideas—users pitch, vote, and fund the best proposals from the community.

• Leaderboards

  • Track and highlight your most active and engaged members in real time.

• Gold

  • A reward token earned through participation, redeemable for perks and discounts.

• Shop

  • A curated storefront where Gold discounts translate directly into real-world sales.

More to come, stay tuned!

My Experience and Perspective

Coming from a professional Dota 2 background and having previously served as CEO of Evil Geniuses, one of the world’s most prominent esports organizations, I bring a deep understanding of the esports industry. I know what it takes to operate at the top level, not just in terms of competitive success but also in the challenging dynamics of sustainability.

Unfortunately, the reality of esports at the highest level is riddled with instability and unsustainable funding methods. From 2015 to 2019, many teams rode the wave of venture capital, with investments reaching eight figures from uninformed investors. From 2020 to 2021, lucrative crypto sponsorships flooded the space, leaving behind a negative perception across gaming communities. Most recently, from 2021 to 2023, many teams have relied on unregulated gambling sponsorships. Today, in 2024, the industry is increasingly funded by investments from the Middle East, fueling entertainment, including esports, but with little foresight for long-term sustainability.

A Bubble of Unsustainability

The esports industry has created a bubble of unsustainability, where organizations often rely on one major source of funding. When that funding source vanishes or falters, the teams and organizations face severe consequences. Many passionate operators have had no choice but to sell their organizations to keep up with the financial demands. Outside money has led to a constant need for more outside money, and in the meantime, salaries for players and staff have skyrocketed in an arms race to secure the best talent.

Yet, despite the ever-growing costs, revenue remains sparse, and profit is often non-existent. Esports players, especially, have been conditioned to believe that competitive success will ensure financial stability. However, this narrative is becoming less true as prize pools dwindle and publishers reduce their involvement in competitive series. A prime example is Dota 2's "The International" (TI), whose prize pool dropped from $40 million in 2021 to $2.6 million in 2024. Players now earn more from team salaries than from prize money.

The Changing Landscape for Players and Teams

Players must now focus on building authentic connections with their fans to create trust and loyalty. This is essential for converting fans into consumers who will try new products. Without this connection, teams will struggle to secure and maintain successful sponsorships, the lifeblood of most esports organizations.

Esports, at its core, has never figured out a consistent revenue model. Investors, especially those from traditional sports backgrounds, saw esports as a pathway to franchise leagues and broadcasting deals, but the internet has created a unique phenomenon that defies those traditional structures. The "sport"—the game itself—is entirely owned by the publisher, who controls how much revenue is shared with the community. In-game cosmetics and microtransactions have proven to be the most lucrative funding mechanism for publishers, especially those with secondary market trading like Valve. However, this model leaves little room for third-party operators to thrive independently.

The Opportunity for Nouns Esports

I believe esports organizations must create better products that engage consumers to spend money directly. Currently, that product does not exist in the esports space, but I am confident that by bringing fandom and culture onchain, we can bridge that gap. Digital products that exist outside the publisher's control will be essential to fostering deeper engagement within esports communities.

Smash Bros. is an excellent example of a self-sustaining community. Unlike many other esports, it is primarily funded by its passionate grassroots scene through event participation. Smash players and fans are hyper-engaged, contributing their time and resources not for financial gain, but for the cultural experience. This is the space where I believe Nouns can make a significant impact.

Bringing Esports Onchain

By continuing to build our brand within the Smash community, I believe Nouns can find cost-effective strategies to bring users onchain for more engaging and rewarding experiences. These hyper-engaged users can be incentivized to participate in onchain culture, opening the door to meaningful partnerships and conversions with blockchain-based applications.

Blockchain technology, in particular, is searching for new users, and I believe esports can bring massive new audiences onchain. I want Nouns to lead the way in this effort, creating a sustainable future for esports that transcends the volatile funding cycles of the past.

I envision a future where Nouns Esports pioneers a new model of engagement. One that goes beyond impressions and surface-level awareness. Our challenge is to reshape the industry by nurturing a culture that thrives both inside and outside the game, onchain, and within the hearts of our community. This is not a challenge that can be solved overnight, but it requires us to prioritize meaningful engagement. Our focus must be on creating lasting value for our community, elevating the experience for consumers rather than catering solely to new funding cycles.

Initially, Nouns Esports utilized Prop House to host funding rounds for players, artists, and tournament organizers. However, the requirement of a crypto wallet and NFTs for voting proved to be a barrier for many in our community, limiting fan engagement in team governance.

On May 13, lead developer Seneca announced that Prop House would be sunset. Luckily, we had already started building our own version. Nouns.GG, once a standard esports team website, is now rapidly evolving into a daily destination for gamers.

Through Rounds, we extend opportunities far beyond our primary roster of players and teams. We have successfully run a variety of rounds, each designed to uplift and empower our community.

Some examples include:

1. Providing travel grants to players to attend events

2. Supporting tournament organizers through sponsorships

3. Hosting art contests

4. Selecting one fan to join us at the International as a content creator

The journey on Nouns.GG begins at the Explorer rank, granting new users one vote per round. As users demonstrate their dedication by participating in three rounds within a month, they ascend to the Challenger rank, earning three votes per round. The top rank, Champion, is reserved for those who connect their Discord, Twitter, Farcaster, and crypto wallet, and who actively vote in Rounds.

While encouraging our audience to adopt Farcaster (a crypto-based Twitter) and create crypto wallets once posed a significant challenge, the promise of additional votes has ignited the curiosity of our most passionate supporters, guiding them to these platforms organically.

The true power of Rounds lies in their ability to not only realize individual dreams but also to mobilize friends and followers, transforming dreams into reality through collective effort.

In conclusion, Rounds on Nouns GG have revolutionized the way we provide funding opportunities within our community. By fostering a participatory environment, we empower our audience to actively shape the destiny of Nouns Esports.

Think Different ⌐◨-◨

Peter